RIP Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov

Kalashnikov deisigned the eponymous Kalashnikov AK47, in order to make a weapon better than possessed by the NAZIs. His original wish was to design agricultural machinery.

According to biography.com,

Born in 1919, Mikhail Kalashnikov grew up in a large peasant family. He enlisted in the Russian army in 1938. While serving in a tank unit, Kalashnikov developed several tank-related inventions. He was wounded in 1941. From his hospital bed, he started work on an automatic rifle design. Kalashnikov won a weapon design contest, which resulted in the production of his AK-47 rifle. Since 1947, the AK-47 has become one of the most popular assault weapons in the world. Kalashnikov developed other arms in later years.

It was intended as a defensive weapon, but its indestructability led to its worldwide popularity with rebels and terrorists as well as armies.

"I created a weapon to defend the fatherland's borders. It's not my fault that it was sometimes used where it shouldn't have been. This is the fault of politicians."

– Mikhail Kalashnikov

From the Kalashnikov on-line museum:

And photoshop: